FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. - The Oregon State women's basketball team clobbered Belmont University 76-52 on Friday in the semifinals of the Northern Arizona Thanksgiving Classic at the Rolle Activity Center.

Junior guard Talisa Rhea scored a season-high 25 points and senior guard Julie Futch added 11 points off the bench for the Beavers (3-1), who handed Belmont

(3-1) its first loss.

OSU will face Northern Arizona at 3:35 p.m. today for the tournament championship; Northern Arizona won the other semifinal, 71-62 over Siena.

"Julie Futch was a big spark, she came off the bench and hit some shots, brought some defensive pressure and got us going, got us up off the mat," OSU assistant coach Anthony Turner said.

"She hit some huge baskets and that got Talisa Rhea going."

Rhea missed her first six shots but finished 9-for-21 overall and 6 of 9 on 3-pointers. She now has 140 career 3-point baskets, second to Felicia Ragland (178) on OSU's all-time list.

"Shooters shoot, if you miss the first you have to take the second," Turner said of Rhea. "Kiersten Tilleman and El Sara Greer were really on the boards today and they had Talisa's back if she missed.

"Talisa did a great job. She was aggressive looking for her shot and finished outside, inside and from the line."

The Beavers turned 26 offensive rebounds into 18 second-chance points, outscored the Bruins 34-8 in the paint, and outrebounded them 56-31. Tilleman had 12 rebounds , giving her 25 in her last two games and at least eight in every game this season.

OSU also converted 14 Belmont turnovers into 27 points while allowing just six off of their 10 turnovers.

Belmont's Haley Nelson was averaging a double-double (18.0 ppg, 16.7 rpg) before Friday but OSU's front line held her to eight points and five rebounds.

"The post players came to us today and said they wanted to hold Nelson to single-digits in scoring and to single-digits in rebounding," said Turner, who coaches OSU's bigs. "They took ownership of that responsibility and they did an excellent job of getting that done."

The Beavers missed 10 of their first 11 shots, but then heated up and broke open a close game with an 11-0 run during a three-minute span midway through the first half. Tilleman had six points, Rhea a 3-pointer and Futch a basket to key the spree that helped the Beavers build a 41-21 halftime lead.

Rhea was 4-for-6 on 3-points and had 14 first-half points; Futch had nine. OSU made 13 of its final 15 shots in the first half and made all six free throws.

OSU has never played Siena/is 1-0 lifetime against NAU.

"They like to run a motion offense," Turner said. "It should be a close game. We'll bring the energy and execution we did today."

The Beavers, who have now won two straight after a Nov. 19 loss at Houston, are idle until a Dec. 5 home game against UC Santa Barbara.

 

Oregon State 76, Belmont 52

BELMONT (52): Tereva More 3-8 1-1 8, Haley nelson 4-8 0-0 8, Shaundra Strayhorn 3-11 3-4 11, Kristin Bunch 1-6 2-2 5, Amber Rockwell 1-3 0-0 2, Kristin Nash 0-2 1-2 1, Crystal Kesler 0-3 2-4 2, Whitney Seals 0-2 0-0 0, Cacy Burtnett 0-4 2-2 2, Shai Wilkins 0-0 0-0 0, Rachel Swisher 0-0 0-0 0, Tristan Daniel 2-3 0-0 5, Alyssa Visbeen 3-5 2-4 8. Totals: 17-55 13-19 52.

OREGON STATE (76): Kirsten Tilleman 2-10 2-2 6, El Sara Greer 4-5 1-2 9, Talisa Rhea 9-21 6-9 25, Haiden Palmer 2-8 1-2 5, Brittany Kennedy 1-3 1-1 3, Tayler Champion 0-2 2-2 2, Kassandra McCalister 3-3 1-2 7, Eisha Sheppard 1-1 0-0 2, Kate Lanz 1-4 2-2 4, Angela Misa 0-0 0-0 0, Julie Futch 5-11 0-0 11, Anita Burdick 1-4 0-0 2, Stacey Nichols 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 29-72 11-15 76.

Halftime: OSU 41, Belmont 21. 3-Point Goals: Belmont 5-19 (Strayhorn 2-5, Bunch 1-4, Moore 1-2, Daniel 1-2, Burtnett 0-4, Rockwell 0-1, Kesler 0-1), OSU 7-15 (Rhea 6-9, Futch 1-3, Palmer 0-2, Lanz 0-1). Fouled Out: None. Rebounds: OSU 56 (Tilleman 12), Belmont 31 (Visbeen 5, Nelson 5). Assists: OSU 16 (Kennedy 4, Palmer 4), Belmont 10 (Strayhorn 6). Total Fouls: OSU 17, Belmont 17. Technicals: None. Att.: 200